This invention relates to golfing equipment and, more particularly, to a golfing accessory which makes locating one""s ball, and play from the rough, both more convenient and less costly making the game more enjoyable for golfers of all levels of skill.
As is well known, there presently exists an increased interest in the game of golf. This, along with the acknowledged high ratio of golfers to golf courses, has placed a high demand and burden on the course operator. Specifically, in order for the golf course to handle the increased number of players, it has increased the number of tee times over the day (thereby shortening the duration between tee times), causing groups to tee off one after the other. Because of the increased traffic on the golf course, and the group approaching right behind, golfers are often forced to abandon a golf-ball that, although within bounds, is not clearly visible to the golferxe2x80x94which would otherwise take an inordinate amount of time in trying to locate it. As a result golfers often suffer not only the expense of having to replace the golf ball (which may cost up to several dollars each) but additionally suffer the frustration of having to add strokes to their score for a lost ball, often disrupting their concentration and rhythm of play.
This problem exists even when playing with a group of other golfers who spot where the ball landed, and try to indicate its position as best they can. Often, by the time the golfer walks the hundred or so yards towards the ball, he/she has lost all bearings and/or landmarks which the other golfers referred to back on the tee, or from wherever the ball was struck. In other instances, one of the golfers in the party may have been kind enough to leave an article of clothing or piece of equipment near the ball when passing by it on the way to his/her own ball. Unfortunately, this can lead to a few undesirable occurrences: a) the ground is wet and/or dirty and thereby causes the article or equipment left to become wet and/or dirty also; b) the article or equipment is inadvertently left behind and the golfer who left it is forced to return to look for it when, and if, they realize that it has been forgotten; and c) the article or equipment left behind is totally forgotten, or never found, thereby requiring a replacement cost which can be quite expensive if a club were left as a marker, for example. All of these occurrences cause undue expense and aggravation to the player who left the article or equipment behind, as well as slowing down play when everyone goes back to try and locate it.
It is an object of the present invention, therefore, to provide a new, inexpensive, lightweight, decorative, method of marking the location of a golf-ballxe2x80x94and particularly one that has strayed off the fairway and into the roughxe2x80x94so that it can be located easily by an advancing player.
It is another object of the present invention to substantially reduce the amount of time spent by golfers searching for their ball, or having to return for forgotten equipment, thereby speeding up play and easing congestion on the golf course.
As will become clear hereinafter, the present invention provides a golf-ball indicator to attend to this, and in a manner so as to limit the misplacement and/or soiling of articles or equipment left as indicatorsxe2x80x94thereby saving time, energy, and money to the playing golfer. AS will also become clear, such an indicator also provides an inexpensive method for companies to advertise their products or services on the golf course. AS will additionally be seen, an indicator of this type may be made readily available to the golfer by packaging it with a customized golf accessory organizer which clips to the side of a golf bag or cart.
Thus, and as described below, the golf-ball indicator of the invention is in the nature of a decoratively attractive, inexpensively priced stake, designed to project above the height of the typical xe2x80x9croughxe2x80x9d surrounding a golf course fairway. As will also be seen, the stake is generally constructed in the form of a flag affixed to the upper terminus of a shaft whose lower terminus is pointed so as to penetrate the ground easily. In a preferred embodiment, the shaft is of sufficient strength not to bend or fold when being pressed into the ground via an integrated flange located above the point. Such flange, additionally acts as a depth stop, to avoid pressing the shaft too deeply into the ground. In such embodiment of the invention the entire indicator can be made from a single plastic mold, thereby having no moving parts to fall off or wear with use.